MOTORCYCLE
FILM FESTIVAL

ABOUT

Set in the world of children’s motorcycle road racing. Twelve-year-old Joel Kelso is ambitious and determined to become a Motorcycle Grand Prix rider. Willing to let nothing get in his way.

Ultimately, ‘Little Racer’ is unusual because it is about a child, who is driven towards one and only one goal, and thinks of nothing else. 12-year old Joel Kelso dreams about being on the podium with Marquez and Rossi every night of his life. We can all identify with having a dream as a child, and most of us are not driven enough to pursue it. However, this is what makes Joel special. His ultimate drive, and the sacrifice his family are willing to undertake in order to make his dream come true. This is my first documentary as director. It speaks truth about my own movie obsessed childhood self, and my relationship with my parents who encouraged me into filmmaking. Little Racer begun as an idea for a short comedy documentary, but as soon as we begun shooting, we knew that it was larger and more powerful than we had thought. The crew formed a bond with the Kelso family, and we were lucky that they let us in. They were honest and forthcoming about their hardship. Joel’s passion was clear to see, as was this tug a war between manhood and childhood that happens when you’re twelve and trying to figure out who you are.

YEAR 2016
CATEGORY Short Documentary
COUNTRY Australia
RUN TIME 12:30 min
EMAIL shawthingfilms@gmail.com